The Green Solution
Maine on Monday becomes the eighth state in the nation to allow adults over the age of 21 to possess and consume marijuana for recreational purposes.
Maine joins six Western states and neighboring Massachusetts in allowing recreational pot, after voters narrowly passed a ballot measure in November. Adults will be allowed to possess up to two and a half ounces of marijuana, and to grow up to 18 plants at home.
“Responsible adult marijuana consumers will no longer be harassed and treated like criminals,” said David Boyer, who ran the campaign to legalize pot last year. “Police will be able to spend more time addressing serious crimes rather than punishing adults for using a substance that is safer than alcohol.”
As in other states that have legalized pot for recreational use, Mainers will not be allowed to smoke in public. And state legislators are only beginning the long process of setting up regulations that will lead to legal pot shops by February 2018. At the moment, it remains illegal to sell or buy marijuana.
Read More: The Hill